Tuesday

DALLAS (AP) — Alec Peters missed his last four shots after the Phoenix rookie had more than quadrupled his career high, at one point turning toward Dallas coach Rick Carlisle and saying, "I'm tired."

It will be a night to remember anyway in a forgettable season for both teams.

Peters scored 36 points, 28 more than his previous best, and the Suns beat the Mavericks 124-97 on Tuesday night in a reserve-filled finale for teams headed to the lottery.

"I looked over at coach Carlisle and he was looking at me wide-eyed and I'm like, I'm exhausted right now," said Peters, the former Washington and Valparaiso standout who bounced back and forth from the G League most of the season. "I know I missed a layup at the end. I'm not going to fret over it too much. Cool night for sure."

The Mavericks (24-58) entered the game tied for the third-worst record in the NBA and stayed that way while sitting eight players. That included star Dirk Nowitzki, whose 20th season ended last week when he had ankle surgery.

Atlanta finished with the same record after losing at home to Philadelphia 121-113. Orlando can join the Mavericks and Hawks with a loss at home to Washington on Wednesday.

Phoenix (21-61), which had already clinched the worst record and best lottery odds for the No. 1 pick in the draft in June, also didn't dress eight players. The Suns won for the second time in 19 games to wrap up their third straight season with at least 58 losses.

Johnathan Motley led Dallas with 21 points.

Peters, who had 46 points total in 19 previous games, was 8 of 13 from 3-point range. The Suns shot 76 percent in the second half while outscoring the Mavericks 80-43. It matched the most points the Mavericks have given up in a half.

Mavericks: The two players not already listed as out who didn't play were Doug McDermott (left elbow contusion) and rookie guard Dennis Smith Jr. (left knee soreness). Leading scorer Harrison Barnes was listed as rest.

DIRK FOR 21

Nowitzki revealed that he spent all season dealing with bone spurs in his left ankle that finally resulted in surgery last week. The German star has maintained that he planned to return next season, which would make him the first to play 21 seasons with the same franchise.

The timing of the surgery was designed to give Nowitzki plenty of time to recover for his offseason regimen. He said he would spend about three weeks in the walking boot he wore in his meeting with reporters before the game.

"I didn't miss a lot of games this year," said Nowitzki, who played 77 games, a record for a player in his 20th season. "I felt fine most of the time. I always said all year that I want to fulfill that two-year contract if possible. I saw nothing this year that was going to stop it."

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